An Intervew with Jeff Wright, a Local Pastor with 10 Years of Ministry Experience

As a young man my vocational interests were almost exclusively aimed at the legal field. However, I was converted and became heavily involved in the congregation. As I grew to maturity I developed a strong interest in the things of the church. Eventually one of the members on staff approached me about whether or not I had ever considered the ministry. From that moment on I began to consider the possibility that vocational ministry was God's plan for my life. I ultimately realized that I would be truly happy doing nothing else and began to direct myself toward that end. I'm not going to lie, sometimes I'm still tempted to think about law but I've realized what I've already said - I just wouldn't be happy doing anything else.

2. Which pastoral responsibility do you enjoy the most? Why?

I enjoy preaching the most. Part of the joy of preaching is the learning component that takes place in front of the sermon delivery. It sounds clichéd but it remains truly fascinating to find greater and greater depth in passages that, from a cursory view, seem very straight forward. I also thoroughly enjoy seeing the effect of God's word on His people. Whether it is someone being converted to the gospel through regular exposure or someone learning to better appreciate the glory of our God, I don't know if there is a richer reward in any vocation. I'm not eloquent enough to discuss preaching with grandiose verbiage but it truly is a remarkable event, both in process and product.

3. Which pastoral duty do you enjoy the least? Why?

I'm not sure of the right name for what I'm trying to describe but it is a subset of personal discipleship. It comes up when you are talking to a congregant who has radically wrong thinking in some area (what the gospel is, health-and-wealth theology, charismatic influences, being captivated by insignificant minutia or controversies in the text, etc) that is a integral component of how they view the faith. The challenge is to confront the wrong thinking in a way that moves them forward without being perceived as assaulting them personally. I find it difficult on all levels; how to get started, how to proceed, how to see the process through, how to evaluate progress - all of it is challenging to me.

4. Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in sermon preparation.

Being bi-vocational I can describe it simply as "not as much as I'd like." In fairness, I don't know of anyone who really values preaching who feels like they have enough time to devote to it. I've never kept hard records about my sermon prep time so this is an estimate at best but I would say between five hours up to twenty, depending on my familiarity with the text when I go in. Being in school helps in that sometimes my studies overlap with what I'm preaching on so those weeks are less involved. When that doesn't take place I'm obviously in need of more time devoted to work with the passage.

5. Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in administrative responsibilities.

I may spend one hour per week in administrative responsibilities. Again, as a function of my bi-vocational status there is very little time for administration. Fortunately I have a very stable and mature congregation that is used to operating a church without overly relying on the pastor. Were it not for that benefit of my particular congregation I really don't know if I would have time to be in ministry the way I am.

6. Describe the amount of time you spend in an average week in personal devotions and prayer.

Again, I don't have a lot of hard data recorded on this one. Also again, I can say with confidence "not as much as I should." My personal devotions aren't always separated from my sermon preparation. I would imagine the amount of time invested fluctuates in direct proportion to my sermon work as the two overlap. In terms of prayer I would estimate 3-5 hours per week. I rarely spend extended periods of time devoted to prayer. My general habit is to keep a running pattern of prayer throughout the day. I would think the cumulative time would work out to the 3-5 hours I estimated.

7. What is an area of pastoral ministry that you wish you had been taught when you were in school?

My major area of complaint with my education has been depth, not breadth. However, if I were forced to pick an area I would go with something related to how to employ laity in ministry more effectively. I say that because I find this process to be difficult and I tend to stumble along in it. I do wonder, however, if a seminary setting can effectively educate in this area from a classroom because of all the unique aspects associated with the specific individuals in a given church's laity.

8. Describe your ordination council.

I would describe my ordination council as friendly, encouraging, and mostly a formality. I don't wish to speak ill of those on the council. They were all dear friends and I'm sure were doing what they thought best. However, my ordination was never seriously in question - it was actually held an hour or so before I was to be ordained. I also wasn't evaluated rigorously in terms of examining my personal orthodoxy, ability to articulate my denominational distinctive, or ability to hold a ministry position. Some of this is mitigated by my council, largely formed from my home church, being able to develop an understanding of these things as I lived in the congregation. Still, I would wish more rigorous ordination procedures on myself and others in my denomination as it is good for both the candidate and the churches they eventually work in.

9. What is one piece of advice you would give to someone aspiring to become a pastor?

Narrowing it down to one is difficult. I suppose I would tell someone to get involved with a church to the highest degree you are able to do so. An ideal situation would be to have a pastor who would let you shadow him as he does his job - and when I say shadow I mean in all aspects you possibly can - and slowly allow the person to take some ministry responsibilities as able. Stay in that kind of environment as long as you are able; or you will think yourself too qualified too early.

10. How do you handle church conflict?

I try to handle it as directly as possible with the parties responsible involved. I also devote a great deal of teaching time to how the church is supposed to function in terms of personal conduct, how we treat one another, and the need for accountability to one another.

11. Have you ever been trained in church conflict? If so where?

I have not been formally trained in church conflict.

12. Do you think forced termination of pastors is a problem in churches today and why?

Yes, in the sense that the loss of a pastor is particularly jarring to any congregation. For the situation to have degenerated to the point where a pastor has to be removed increases the violence done to the congregation exponentially. These are the types of things that local bodies take generations to recover from, if they live that long, and countless lives are affected within the body for the worse. The stink of the controversy always makes its way into the community around the church as well, weakening the Christian testimony of that church as well as the broader Christian community.

13. What advice would you give me on how to avoid forced termination?

I would say the same to anyone on this subject: Be very careful about what church positions you take. I think pastors need to look as far beyond the search committee as they can into the life and history of the church. This can be difficult to do but some steps I'd recommend is to ask as many questions as you possibly can of the search committee. Request an opportunity to review not only the constitution and bylaws of the church but also the minutes of the last several years' worth of business meetings. Perhaps ask to meet with the church's recording secretary. Call local pastors. Do whatever you can to make sure you understand the church that is interviewing you. Also be sure and tell the committee and the body during any interview process what you anticipate being controversial in what you believe or how you do business. Try to get as many expectations from the church body spelled out clearly and objectively in the job description the committee presents you. Once in the church remember to always prefer others and that just because you are the pastor doesn't mean that you are always right or that your priorities should always hold sway. Be willing to go slowly - more slowly than your worst original expectation of timeframe - in bringing a congregation through change. When making changes - even if they seem small to you - be sure and let the congregation have ample time to speak to the issue and think through it. When you are wrong, acknowledge it publicly. You should publicly confess your own sins. Seek input from the lay leaders of the congregation. Handle conflict directly and quickly whenever possible. I'll stop there because this is becoming an essay; the important thing to sum up is that we should be very careful to maintain our relationship, as pastors, to the body as members of that body.